Unlikely friendships blossom, tenderheartedness starkly contrasts with selfish unkindness, and creative problem solving prevails. What a great recipe for a delightful, inspiring story. Its heroes -- a gorilla, an elephant, and a young girl --may be a fairy tale group, but the theme, compassion often requires courage, is very real and transcendent.

The story's magic-laden background and setting force the main character to face reality, find courage, and take action. An unforgettable, thought-provoking tale with plenty of material to consider and discuss.

Charming free verse vignettes from the childhood of Jacqueline Woodson draw the reader into a life rich with feelings, scents, sounds, and sensations within an African-American family. Mentions of Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights marches and segregated lunch counters provide great points of discussion. However, the focus is simple family times: catching fireflies, church meetings, Saturday night shamp ...

Crossover is an engaging set of free verse poems describing events in the lives of 7th grade twin boys throughout their basketball season. The poems are charming and engaging, some in a rap style. The short, pithy style and athletic allusions will appeal to middle school boys. The story is told through one brother’s eyes, and sibling rivalry between the two is a part of the plot. The parents are ...

Desperate tale of a family’s survival during the winter of 1944, a time the Dutch call Hongerwinter. Papa and older sister, Els, are away as resistance fighters, and Mamma has died. Alone, thirteen-year-old Dirk must safely transport himself and little sister Anna across NAZI-held countryside to rejoin their relatives. They meet many people, but they never know who is friend or who is foe.

At first, radium was a health cure. Then it was the source of timepieces that could be read in the dark. And then it turned deadly. Caught in the history of this radioactive element, young women painted watch faces for manufacturers. As one after another suffers detrimental effects, it becomes obvious that working with radium is dangerous. However, the companies were profiting nicely from its use ...

"Mama always said you should live a life the same way you piece a quilt...You was the one to decide how your story turns out." Irene Latham's quilt metaphor depicts the story's arc, while its details explore how perception forms. This is a poignant story of racial tension, misguided understanding, and loss. "Sometimes things don't make sense, no matter how hard you try to figure it. Them are the t ...

A biography of the modest Frenchman who, after being blinded at the age of three, went on to develop a system of raised dots on paper that enabled blind people to read and write.

This acclaimed memoir tells the unforgettable story of a young boy's journey from a refugee camp in Sudan to Chicago, where his family survived on welfare. Mawi followed his father's advice to "treat people . . . as though they were angels sent from heaven," and realized his dream of a full-tuition scholarship to Harvard University.

Ann Fay Honeycutt accepts the role of man of the house when her father leaves to fight Hitler because she wants to do her part for the war in this Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book. She's doing well with the extra responsibilities when a frightening polio epidemic strikes, crippling many local children. Her town of Hickory responds by creating an emergency hospital in three days. Ann Fay reads eac ...

In 119 A.D., the Ninth Roman Legion marches north into the wilds of Britain--and disappears without a trace. Fifteen years later, Marcus Flavius Aquila, the son of the unit's commander, embarks upon a quest to recover the lost eagle standard of the Ninth.

When they accidentally uncover a plot against the British emperor Carausius, a young army surgeon and his soldier cousin are caught up in a maze of intrigue that leads them into an underground organization of secret agents in the service of Rome.

During a crisis, how many things have to go right before you wonder if a larger plan is playing out? Survivors and rescuers confront this question in a dramatic, real-life story of survival. The writing is unrelentingly gripping, giving readers multiple perspectives as the storm rages, the waves rise, and the rescue plays out. (Includes mild language in very few quotes from individuals as they sha ...

It is the middle of WWII; Gabi, her mother and her cousin, Max, go into hiding. Unable to stand their cramped hiding space, Gabi and Max go on secret walks and discover information that is useful to the anti-Nazi partisan soldiers camped out nearby.

Recounting her ancestors' struggle to make a way in a new land, the author offers a rich telling of Texas history.

Chickadee, Atim, Otter, and Sam are tweens on a mission! The national gathering of the Cree Peoples is meeting on their Windy Lake land, but the sudden disappearance of the sacred relics from their location threatens Windy Lake’s reputation among the other Cree tribes. Blending traditional native tracking methods and 21st Century technology they search diligently to restore Windy Lake’s honor, ...

After their mother's murder, Sade and her brother are smuggled out of Nigeria and sent to London foster homes. Their father escapes to join them, but will be sent back to Nigeria unless Sade can tell the world what happened to her family.

A humorous twist on Sleeping Beauty, ideal for reading aloud or alone!